<p>What an incredible community here ! @bopper I will check out that book as well. @myos1634 Tomorrow night we will lay out the expectations and implement a time management system. If he can’t show improvement in his study skills there’s no use sending him back. With that in mind we are going to painstakingly explore alternative and additional study skills and strategies to be sure he can actually use them. We will also review his work to assure that he is making progress and understands the utility of these ideas. Either way his true colors will show. .</p>
<p>Wow, tough summer ahead.</p>
<p>Have you considered using somewhat easier subject matter as your son’s “boot camp”? Even kids with terrific work habits, excellent organizational skills, and a fire in the belly find Orgo a tough slog. So if you’re trying to:
1- develop better study skills
2- instill a measure of work ethic and sense of responsibility
3- actually get him to absorb enough content to pass the course
4- make progress towards his degree</p>
<p>all at once, then maybe using orgo as the test case is a bad idea.</p>
<p>@blossom We haven’t really thought about any other classes, but I can see the wisdom of trying the new study skills on something a little less grueling. I was hoping that a mooc like the open Yale O-chem would serve a purpose beyond just a testing ground and beyond just a rehashing of the same material. I hope the exposure to “resources” be they khan academy or O chem blogs or this open Yale course and the tons of ancillary materials that go with it. He could learn the value of identifying new resources. Do you have any suggestions about a course that may work better? </p>
<p>I personally would do better with a Mooc or online course that didn’t have quite so much material to absorb in a short period of time. YMMV. So something in Econ (there are problem sets but not as much material to memorize)??? I’d hate to see you win the battle but lose the war here. The goal is to get him back on track in college, making progress towards a degree, yes??? And the vehicle is to work closely with him to supervise, troubleshoot, and help maintain good study habits?</p>
<p>This sounds like an epic undertaking unless Orgo is the hill you want to die on.</p>
<p>MOOC’s are tough for those who aren’t motivated. Most students don’t finish. I found a MOOC pretty overwhelming honestly. How about a community college class, with some extra advising set up?</p>